Dear Campus Community,
We are more than half-way through the fall quarter and could not be more grateful for the hard work of so many on our campus to support remote instruction, continue high-quality research, and build and maintain our community. To help our students, staff and faculty plan for the future, we write to update you about current campus plans for spring and summer instruction and housing. We continue to align with county and state guidelines and to prioritize public health and well-being, promote equitable access to education, and commit to high-quality instruction and student support in all of our planning.
Spring and Summer instruction
Much like we did in fall and winter, UC Santa Cruz will continue to offer most courses remotely or online for spring and summer 2021, providing in-person instruction for a small number of courses that may not be effectively delivered remotely, such as some laboratory, studio, field-research and field-study courses. Each course will have the mode of instruction listed within the schedule of courses, available for spring February 2021 and in March 2021 for summer.
Our in-person instruction and learning spaces will remain modified to ensure that we comply with physical distancing and other public health measures. While we may have a small increase of in-person courses in the spring quarter, students are still strongly encouraged to live and learn remotely.
Housing and dining
Students without a safe place to live and learn continue to be prioritized for winter quarter on-campus housing. As we recover from the wildfire, ramp up COVID-19 testing capacity and continue to prepare buildings, we have been able to extend the opportunity for on-campus housing to additional students. We are hoping to house approximately 2,500 students in the winter quarter which was roughly our pre-fire, on-campus housing plan for fall quarter.
The residential housing and dining experience will remain modified to accommodate current public-health guidance - students primarily live in single rooms and are required to take COVID-19 tests twice a week. Students who are taking all courses remotely and who have a safe place to live and learn should still refrain from seeking off-campus housing in Santa Cruz.
Student services
Student Health Services is providing services in person and remotely. Counseling and Psychological Services, Basic Needs support, Learning Support Services, Disability Resource Center, and CARE are all open and providing services remotely. A full list of services and operating hours can be found on the COVID-19 webpage and the Division of Student Affairs and Success website.
Planning for a healthy campus
Reducing the spread of COVID-19 remains a top priority, and we are continuously evaluating how we can best achieve this goal. In collaboration with the campus Molecular Diagnostic Lab, the Cowell Student Health Center has ramped up an asymptomatic testing program for our campus and is also testing students who exhibit symptoms of COVID-19.
Please continue to be diligent about following local, state, and campus public-health mandates. The campus has also instituted protocols to reduce COVID-19 spread on campus, including:
- Requiring all students, employees, and guests/visitors to wear face coverings
- Minimizing the density of people at all UCSC-owned or -leased properties
- Implementing building control measures, such as physical distancing in all campus classrooms and learning and living spaces
- Increasing sanitization
- Requiring training for all employees before they return to on-site work
- Continuing remote work arrangements for many employees
- Requiring worksite plans before employees return to on-site work
- Requiring flu shots for all students, faculty and staff who live or work on campus (FAQ)
- Requiring daily, self-administered symptom checks for all employees and student employees who are coming into a UCSC-owned or -leased property
- Requiring regular testing for students living on campus
Our campus community has worked so hard to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and our numbers show it. Our students, staff, and faculty continue to support each other by testing regularly, practicing social distancing, and wearing face coverings. We hope that this shared effort as a community puts us one step closer to coming together in person again. Until then, we hope you stay safe, stay well, and stay connected, and remember that no matter where you are, you’re still a Banana Slug.
